DEC. 10 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The authorities in Uzbekistan have banned Uncle Frost, the Russian version of Santa Claus, from national TV, Russian news agency RIA-Novosti reported. RIA-Novosti said a group of hard-line Uzbek nationalists had forced through the ban on Uncle Frost and other Russian folklore characters.
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(News report from Issue No. 117, published on Dec. 14 2012)
DEC. 10 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Perhaps it was just scare-mongering, but Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia’s National Security Council and a close adviser to president Vladimir Putin, said that his staff were monitoring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan for signs of any re-emergence of the so-called colour revolutions, Russian media reported.
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(News report from Issue No. 117, published on Dec. 14 2012)
DEC. 8 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Much to the delight of the Azerbaijani authorities who have been heavily marketing their capital city, Baku will host the inaugural European Olympic Games in 2015. The 41-member European Olympic Committee approved Baku’s bid, it was actually the only application, to hold the event at a meeting in Rome.
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(News report from Issue No. 117, published on Dec. 14 2012)
NOV. 29 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Villagers in south Kyrgyzstan have attacked and set fire to a camp used by geologists working for a Russian gold mining company, Reuters reported, dealing another blow to foreign investor confidence. Local people have previously attacked foreign mining operations, blaming them for environmental damage.
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(News report from Issue No. 115, published on Nov. 30 2012)
NOV. 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Fuel shortages are creating frustration and long queues outside petrol stations in Uzbekistan, local media reported. The scenario is a repeat of last year. The actual trigger for the shortages is unclear although most people blame a combination of poor infrastructure and official corruption.
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(News report from Issue No. 115, published on Nov. 30 2012)
NOV. 22 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz authorities have accused an Irish researcher, Conor Prasad, working for the Brussels-based think tank International Crisis Group (ICG) of stirring ethnic tension in Osh, media reported. The ICG, which publishes influential reports on Central Asia, and Kyrgyzstan in particular, denied the allegations.
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(News report from Issue No. 114, published on Nov. 23 2012)
NOV. 11 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Workers at the Black Sea port of Poti, in Georgia, ended their strike after management agreed to raise their wages by 20%. The workers had gone on strike on Nov. 1. Poti is a vital transit point along the transport corridor that shifts goods and energy supplies between Europe and Asia.
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(News report from Issue No. 113, published on Nov. 16 2012)
NOV. 7 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Workers at the Black Sea port of Poti in Georgia have been striking since Nov. 1, media reported. The port is a vital transit point for the trade route connecting Central Asia and the South Caucasus to Europe. In 2008, the Georgian government sold a stake in Poti Port to Ras Al Khaimah, part of the UAE.
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(News report from Issue No. 112, published on Nov. 9 2012)
NOV. 1 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Gulnara Karimova, daughter of Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov, has just launched a perfume and released a new pop song but media reports say that this has not sated her and she is now planning to produce a film. Human rights activists have accused Mr Karimov of various abuses, allegations he denies.
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(News report from Issue No. 111, published on Nov. 2 2012)
OCT. 25 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A fight between Kyrgyz and Chinese workers at the Altynken gold mine in northern Kyrgyzstan broke out, local media reported. According to reports, about 250 Chinese workers were evacuated from the mine, which is owned by a Chinese company, after the fight. Resource nationalism has intensified in Kyrgyzstan.
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(News report from Issue No. 110, published on Oct. 26 2012)